U.S. patent number 8,439,487 [Application Number 12/664,938] was granted by the patent office on 2013-05-14 for continuous ink jet printing of encapsulated droplets.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Eastman Kodak Company. The grantee listed for this patent is Andrew Clarke, Stephanie V. Desrousseaux, Danuta Gibson, John M. Higgins, Andrew M. Howe. Invention is credited to Andrew Clarke, Stephanie V. Desrousseaux, Danuta Gibson, John M. Higgins, Andrew M. Howe.
United States Patent |
8,439,487 |
Clarke , et al. |
May 14, 2013 |
Continuous ink jet printing of encapsulated droplets
Abstract
A method for creating composite droplets for use in an ink jet
system includes a first fluid (1) brought into contact with a
second fluid within a set of channels (5,14). The interface between
the fluids is characterized by an interfacial tension. The first
fluid forms spaced droplets (8) within the second fluid, the
composite of the first and second fluids passing through an orifice
(6) to form a jet (9).
Inventors: |
Clarke; Andrew (Haslingfield,
GB), Higgins; John M. (Pinner, GB), Howe;
Andrew M. (Cambridge, GB), Gibson; Danuta
(Cambridge, GB), Desrousseaux; Stephanie V. (Cidex,
FR) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Clarke; Andrew
Higgins; John M.
Howe; Andrew M.
Gibson; Danuta
Desrousseaux; Stephanie V. |
Haslingfield
Pinner
Cambridge
Cambridge
Cidex |
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A |
GB
GB
GB
GB
FR |
|
|
Assignee: |
Eastman Kodak Company
(Rochester, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
38421114 |
Appl.
No.: |
12/664,938 |
Filed: |
June 27, 2008 |
PCT
Filed: |
June 27, 2008 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/GB2008/002231 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
April 30, 2010 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2009/004318 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
January 08, 2009 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20100238232 A1 |
Sep 23, 2010 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
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Jul 3, 2007 [GB] |
|
|
0712861.4 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
347/73;
347/74 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B05B
17/04 (20130101); B05B 7/0408 (20130101); B01J
13/02 (20130101); B41J 2/03 (20130101); B01F
13/0079 (20130101); B01F 13/0062 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B41J
2/02 (20060101); B41J 2/07 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;347/73 ;425/5 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1 193 066 |
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Apr 2002 |
|
EP |
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1 364 718 |
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Oct 2007 |
|
EP |
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1996207318 |
|
Aug 1996 |
|
JP |
|
WO 98/53946 |
|
Dec 1998 |
|
WO |
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WO 02/23163 |
|
Mar 2002 |
|
WO |
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WO 2004/091763 |
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Oct 2004 |
|
WO |
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WO 2005/103106 |
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Nov 2005 |
|
WO |
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WO 2006/038979 |
|
Apr 2006 |
|
WO |
|
WO 2006/096571 |
|
Sep 2006 |
|
WO |
|
Other References
T E. Faber, Fluid Dynamics for Physicists, CUP 1995, p. 295. cited
by applicant .
P. G. deGennes et al., "Capillarity and Wetting Phenomena",
Springer 2004, p. 118. cited by applicant .
Anna et al., Appl. Phys. Lett 82, 3 (2003) 364. cited by
applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Fidler; Shelby
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Zimmerli; William R.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A microfluidic device for use in a continuous ink jet printer
comprising at least one first channel for feeding a first fluid, at
least one second channel for feeding a second fluid, and a nozzle,
the channels intersecting such that shear forces allow a jet of the
first fluid to form within the second fluid and to subsequently
disintegrate to form spaced droplets of the first fluid contained
within the second fluid prior to reaching the nozzle so that a
composite jet of droplets of the first fluid and the second fluid
is ejected through the nozzle, the microfluidic device further
comprising means for perturbing the flow of the composite jet
positioned proximate to the nozzle from which the composite jet
flows, and means to individually perturb the path of each droplet
of said first fluid within said second fluid.
2. A microfluidic device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the channel
feeding the first fluid is provided with means to perturb the flow
of the first fluid.
3. A microfluidic device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the channel
feeding the second fluid is provided with means to perturb the flow
of the second fluid.
4. A microfluidic device as claimed in claim 1 wherein some
droplets of the first fluid are directed through the nozzle to form
a composite jet and some droplets of the first fluid are directed
through an alternative exit channel.
5. A microfluidic device as claimed in claim 1 including downstream
of the composite jet flow a channel of broader cross section than
the first or second channels which contracts to the nozzle.
6. A microfluidic device for use in a continuous ink jet printer
comprising at least one first channel for feeding a first fluid and
at least one second channel for feeding a second fluid, the channel
feeding the first fluid being provided with means to initiate
formation of a droplet of the first fluid within the second fluid,
the composite of the first and second fluids passing through an
orifice to form a jet, the composite jet being perturbed to
initiate breakup such that the droplets of the first fluid are
encapsulated within droplets of the second fluid, the microfluidic
device further comprising means for perturbing the flow of the
composite jet positioned proximate to the nozzle from which the
composite jet flows, wherein the channel feeding the second fluid
is provided with means to perturb the flow of the second fluid.
7. A microfluidic device as claimed in claim 6 including means to
individually perturb the path of each droplet of said first fluid
within said second fluid.
8. A microfluidic device for use in a continuous ink jet printer
comprising at least one first channel for feeding a first fluid and
at least one second channel for feeding a second fluid, the
channels intersecting such that shear forces allow a jet of the
first fluid to form within the second fluid and to subsequently
disintegrate to form spaced droplets of the first fluid within the
second fluid, and a subsequent nozzle to form a composite jet,
wherein the channel feeding the second fluid is provided with means
to perturb the flow of the second fluid.
9. A microfluidic device as claimed in claim 8 wherein the channel
feeding the first fluid is provided with means to perturb the flow
of the first fluid.
10. A microfluidic device for use in a continuous ink jet printer
comprising at least one first channel for feeding a first fluid and
at least one second channel for feeding a second fluid, the
channels intersecting such that shear forces allow a jet of the
first fluid to form within the second fluid and to subsequently
disintegrate to form spaced droplets of the first fluid within the
second fluid, a subsequent nozzle to form a composite jet, and
means to individually perturb the path of each droplet of said
first fluid within said second fluid.
11. A microfluidic device as claimed in claim 10 wherein some
droplets of the first fluid are directed through the nozzle to form
a composite jet and some droplets of the first fluid are directed
through an alternative exit channel.
12. A microfluidic device as claimed in claim 10 wherein the
channel feeding the first fluid is provided with means to perturb
the flow of the first fluid.
13. A microfluidic device as claimed in claim 10 wherein the
channel feeding the second fluid is provided with means to perturb
the flow of the second fluid.
14. A microfluidic device for use in a continuous ink jet printer
comprising at least one first channel for feeding a first fluid, at
least one second channel for feeding a second fluid, and a nozzle,
the channels intersecting such that shear forces allow a jet of the
first fluid to form within the second fluid and to subsequently
disintegrate to form spaced droplets of the first fluid contained
within the second fluid prior to reaching the nozzle so that a
composite jet of droplets of the first fluid and the second fluid
is ejected through the nozzle, the microfluidic device further
comprising means for perturbing the flow of the composite jet
positioned proximate to the nozzle from which the composite jet
flows, wherein the channel feeding the second fluid is provided
with means to perturb the flow of the second fluid.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the field of continuous ink jet printing,
in particular to the formation of composite droplets using a
microfluidic device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
With the growth in the consumer printer market, inkjet printing has
become a broadly applicable technology for supplying small
quantities of liquid to a surface in an image-wise way. Both
drop-on-demand (DOD) and continuous inkjet (CIJ) devices have been
conceived and built. Whilst the primary development of inkjet
printing has been for aqueous based systems with some applications
of solvent based systems, the underlying technology is being
applied much more broadly.
Inkjet printing continues to strive for higher spatial resolution.
Because the colorant is uniformly distributed within the ink at a
constant concentration in all current systems (DOD and CIJ), this
resolution is determined by the droplet size. Thus in order to push
to higher resolution, it will be necessary to generate smaller
drops at higher frequency. In producing ever-smaller drops, several
technical constraints become progressively more severe.
First, ever higher droplet velocity is required to maintain droplet
inertia and therefore throw distance and placement accuracy.
Second, to produce smaller drops smaller orifices are required.
This then demands finer filtration since the nozzles will block
more easily. Third, the smaller nozzle diameter will require higher
back pressure to ensure the same jet Weber number.
The break-up of a thin liquid jet driven by capillary forces is
well known. The instability is driven by capillary forces that
reduce the surface area of the jet by forming droplets, and is
known as the Rayleigh-Plateau instability (J. Plateau 1873; see
e.g. T. E. Faber, "Fluid dynamics for physicists", CUP 1995, p 295
or P. G. de Gennes, F. Brochard-Wyart, D. Quere, "Capillarity and
Wetting Phenomena", Springer 2004, p 118.). The process is seen in
nature in the dew that forms on a spider's web, where the uniform
film on each thread eventually beads up to form separated droplets.
It is also routinely seen in the dripping of a household tap. In
recent years this instability has been widely studied in the
context of inkjet printing. For drop-on-demand (DOD) printing,
there is usually a thread of liquid that follows drop ejection and
which subsequently disintegrates to form unwanted satellites. For
continuous inkjet (CIJ), the continuous formation of droplets from
the jet in a controlled fashion is fundamental to the robust
operation of the process. It is well understood that the growth of
random perturbations to the jet (radius, pressure, velocity,
surface tension etc.) lead to the formation of drops at an average
frequency corresponding to approximately 9 times the jet radius,
the so called Rayleigh frequency. It is also well known that by
periodically perturbing the jet the drop formation can be
stabilised at frequencies between approximately 0.25.times.Rayleigh
frequency and 1.25.times.Rayleigh frequency. At frequencies above
approximately 1.39.times.Rayleigh frequency, the jet is in fact
stable. Although most attention has been paid to liquid jets in
air, exactly the same process takes place for an immiscible jet in
another liquid, where it is now the interfacial tension that is the
driving force. Again the Rayleigh frequency is observed, though the
final break-up process is slightly different in detail.
A new continuous inkjet device based on a MEMs formed set of
nozzles has been recently developed (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,410).
In this device a liquid ink jet is formed from a pressurized
nozzle. One or more heaters are associated with each nozzle to
provide a thermal perturbation to the jet. This perturbation is
sufficient to initiate break-up of the jet into regular droplets
through the Rayleigh-Plateau instability. By changing the timing of
electrical pulses applied to the heater large or small drops can be
formed and subsequently separated into printing and non-printing
drops via a gaseous cross flow. All continuous inkjet processes
require capture and recirculation of non-printing droplets. These
processes are problematic for liquids containing many useful
additives such as polymeric materials and colloidal materials such
as pigments. Furthermore, because of the need to sort printing
droplets from non-printing droplets, contone printing is not in
general possible, i.e. all printing droplets being the same size
and the same colorant density. By enabling contone printing the
requirement for high spatial resolution is significantly reduced
since with a binary printing arrangement spatial resolution is used
to create the illusion of colour variation.
In the last several years the field of microfluidics has grown
significantly. Inkjet drop generation devices are microfluidic
devices in that they employ very small scale liquid channels. The
implication of this is that the Reynolds number
.rho..times..times..mu. ##EQU00001## where .rho. is the liquid
density (kg/m.sup.3), U is a characteristic velocity (m/s), L a
characteristic length (m) and .mu. the liquid viscosity (pas), is
sufficiently small that inertial effects are sufficiently small
that the flow is predominantly laminar in nature. For a typical
continuous inkjet system the velocity might be 20 m/s and a length
might be 5 .mu.m with a density approximately 1000 kg/m.sup.3 and a
viscosity of 1 mPas, the Reynolds number is therefore approximately
100. The transition to turbulent flow in a straight pipe occurs at
Re above approx 2000.
Microfluidic devices where the liquid flow is laminar necessarily
prevent mixing. In fact the only mechanism available for mixing is
diffusional flow. For example, consider a T junction in which two
fluids are injected to flow alongside each other. How far down the
channel must the fluids flow before the channel is homogenized? A
simple estimate requires the particles or molecules to diffuse
across the entire channel, giving a time t.sub.D.about.w.sup.2/D,
where w is the width of the channel and D is the diffusion
constant. During this time, the material will have moved a distance
Z.about.U.sub.0w.sup.2/D down the channel, so that the number of
channel widths required for complete mixing would be of order
.apprxeq..times..ident. ##EQU00002##
The dimensionless number on the right is known as the Peclet number
(Pe), which expresses the relative importance of convection to
diffusion. In this example, the number of channel widths required
for full mixing varies linearly with Pe. Using the diffusivities in
the table below, estimated using the Stokes-Einstein relation, we
see that even a dye molecule flowing with the fluid through a 10
.mu.m channel at 1 m/s requires Pe .about.250000 channel widths to
completely mix. Alternatively, that same dye molecule flowing with
the fluid at 1 m/s would require a pipe length z.about.25 mm to
diffuse 1 .mu.m.
TABLE-US-00001 Characteristic Diffusivities in water at room
temperature Particle Typical size Diffusion constant Solute ion
10.sup.-1 nm 2 .times. 10.sup.3 .mu.m.sup.2/s Dye molecule 5 nm 40
.mu.m.sup.2/s Colloidal particle 100 nm 2 .mu.m.sup.2/s Bacterium 1
.mu.m 0.2 .mu.m.sup.2/s Mammalian/human cell 10 .mu.m 0.02
.mu.m.sup.2/s
A class of microfluidic device that has recently proved extremely
interesting are flow focussing devices (FFD see e.g. Anna et al
Appl Phys Lett 82, 3 (2003) 364; US 2005/0172476). In an FFD a
liquid flows into a middle channel and a second immiscible liquid
flows into one or more outside channels. The two liquid phases are
then forced to flow through a small orifice that is located
downstream of the channels. The outer fluid exerts pressure and
viscous stresses that force the inner fluid into a narrow thread,
which then breaks inside or downstream of the orifice. These
devices are of interest because by operating in either a geometry
controlled or dripping mode, monodisperse droplets are formed that
have many uses, e.g. emulsion formation, drug encapsulation,
particle engineering etc. However, monodisperse drops are not
formed in the jetting regime, i.e. where the central immiscible
liquid breaks up via capillary forces in the Rayleigh regime.
An alternative droplet formation device brings two immiscible
liquids together at a T junction (WO 2002/23163). In this device
the shear of the outer fluid on the interface of the inner liquid
creates the droplets in a dripping mode. The size of the droplet so
formed is controlled by the ratio of the shear stress acting on the
liquid-liquid interface and the interfacial tension.
Using these devices various operations on droplets can be performed
(see US 2005/0172476, US 2006/0163385, US 2006/0234051, US
2007/0054119, WO 2004/091763). In general the purpose is to
engineer droplets or particles or to encapsulate, for example,
drugs. Coalescence of droplet streams is achieved (US2007/0003442),
mixing and polymerisation of droplets (WO2005/103106), and multiple
emulsions are formed (WO2006/096571).
EP 1364718 discloses a method of generating encapsulated droplets
via co flowing immiscible liquids. In this method the liquids are
supplied by coaxially arranged nozzles, which are difficult to
manufacture as an array. Further, this method relies on a strong
electrostatic field to ensure break-up of the coaxially arranged
liquids.
JP 1996207318 also uses coaxial tubes and electrostatics to break
off a droplet. The centre tube in this case can supply colloidal
particles or a plurality of them to provide a colour level.
Electrophoretic means can stop the flow of particles by arrangement
of electric fields.
WO 2006/038979 describes a concentric piezoelectric system to
enable encapsulated drop on demand printing.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,713,389 describes placing multiple discrete
components on a surface for the purpose of creating
electronics.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,198 describes using a carrier gas stream to
direct vaporous dyes toward a surface. It discloses use of co
flowing gas streams, but not liquids.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,377,387 describes various methods for generating
encapsulated dispersions of particles.
WO 2002/23163 describes cross-flow devices for making emulsion
droplets for biological applications.
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION
The invention aims to provide a method of producing composite
droplets for use in a printing process that overcomes the technical
difficulties mentioned above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a method for
creating composite droplets for use in an ink jet system whereby a
first fluid is brought into contact with a second fluid within a
set of channels, the interface between the fluids being
characterised by an interfacial tension, the first fluid forming
spaced droplets within the second fluid, the composite of the first
and second fluids passing through an orifice to form a jet, the
composite jet being perturbed to initiate break-up such that the
droplets of the first fluid are encapsulated within droplets of the
second fluid.
The invention further provides a microfluidic device for use in a
continuous ink jet printer comprising at least one first channel
for feeding a first fluid and at least one second channel for
feeding a second fluid, the channels intersecting such that shear
forces allow a jet of the first fluid to form within the second
fluid and to subsequently disintegrate to form spaced droplets of
the first fluid within the second fluid, and a subsequent nozzle to
form a composite jet.
ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECT OF THE INVENTION
The method of the present invention removes the need for the
complex processes of ink catching and recirculation. Without
recirculation the method is fast and significantly simpler. It is
also therefore less costly.
By using a microfluidic system to provide colorant as separate
droplets on demand or continuously into a carrier liquid the
composite of which can be continuously jetted, the advantage of
high speed realized with continuous inkjet can be combined with the
liquid handling advantages of DOD systems. Further the method
allows the possibility of continuous tone printing in a CIJ format
by varying either the size or the density of the colorant droplet
without affecting the outer drop.
By so focussing the colorant, the printed resolution is improved
since the spatial resolution is dependant on the colorant
placement, not the liquid placement.
Further, by placing one or more of the ink components within the
central droplet, there is a separation of the liquid requirements
for jetting and those for drop formation, from the material
properties for the ink. That is, the outer liquid can be optimised
for jetting whilst the inner liquid can be optimised for image or
printed pattern formation.
Interactions of ink components with the nozzle lead to nozzle wear,
drop break-up fluctuations and thermal degradation of the ink. By
placing one or more of the ink components into immiscible drops
within the flow, they are kept separate from the nozzle and
therefore cannot interact with it.
By being able to control the proportion of colorant added to the
carrier flow it is possible to reduce the proportion to zero. This
also allows "empty" drops so printing can be continuous with
colorant only where necessary.
Multiple components can be jetted within the same droplet. The
method allows the possibility of jetting difficult components such
as reactive species, high viscosity species etc. It also allows the
possibility of printing onto difficult, impermeable, low energy
surfaces such as polypropylene, polyethylene, etc.
By providing air or gas as the inner fluid the total amount of
liquid being printed can be reduced. Therefore drying of the final
print is eased.
The method of the invention enables multiple colorants within a
single drop.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described with reference to the
accompanying drawings in which:
FIGS. 1a, 1b and 1c illustrate prior art of various devices
(WO2006/096571, US2007/0054119 and WO2002/0231163 respectively) for
forming droplets of one immiscible liquid within another;
FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c schematically illustrate a continuous inkjet
droplet generator configuration with encapsulated droplets;
FIGS. 3a and 3b schematically illustrate methods of providing a
composite fluid for encapsulated inkjet droplets;
FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a continuous inkjet droplet
generator with an expansion chamber;
FIGS. 5a, 5b and 5c schematically illustrate a continuous inkjet
droplet generator with continuous variation of the first fluid
composition;
FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a continuous inkjet droplet
generator with internal drop sorting;
FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a continuous inkjet droplet
generator with internal droplet generation on demand;
FIG. 8 illustrates a device suitable for performing the method of
the invention;
FIG. 9 illustrates another device suitable for performing the
method of the invention;
FIG. 10 is a copy of a photograph illustrating the break up of the
jet into droplets;
FIG. 11 is a graph of water pressure against oil pressure;
FIG. 12 illustrates a further device suitable for performing the
method of the invention; and
FIG. 13a is copy of a photograph showing breakup of a liquid in
liquid jet and 13b is a copy of a photograph showing breakup of the
composite jet external to the device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows the prior art available for creating drops of one
immiscible liquid within another. FIGS. 1a and 1b show two
variations of a flow focusing device and FIG. 1c shows a shear flow
T piece. In all cases these devices are used for generating
droplets in a flow regime where the outer and inner liquid flow is
sufficiently slow that the inner liquid does not form a jet, since
under these conditions monodisperse droplets are produced. In the
present invention, we provide an orifice in order to form a free
jet, i.e a liquid jet in air. For this purpose the liquid velocity,
U.sub.jet, must be greater than
.gtoreq..sigma..times..times..rho. ##EQU00003##
where .sigma. is the surface tension of the outer liquid (N/m), R
is the radius of the jet (m) and .rho. is the average density of
the composite jet (kg/m.sup.3). For typical values this might be
approximately 4 m/s. Furthermore, since we require inner droplets
of a similar size to the final jet, then the internal device that
forms the internal droplets will have channels of a similar size to
the orifice, and therefore the velocity will be similar to that of
the final jet, and therefore the internal device must necessarily
be operated in the jetting regime.
FIG. 2a illustrates the formation of immiscible droplets prior to
an inkjet nozzle using a flow focussing device where the free jet
is perturbed via a heater in the region of the nozzle. The first
fluid 1 enters via channel or pipe 5 and the second fluid,
immiscible with the first fluid, enters via channels, or pipes, 14.
The flow rates are high enough that a jet, 7, of the first fluid is
formed. This jet will spontaneously break into droplets 8. The
droplets are carried with the flow out of a nozzle 6 to form a free
jet 9, which breaks into droplets 10. In order that uniform drops
are formed from the jet 9, an actuator 4 is provided. It will be
appreciated that this might be a heater, or a piezo device or any
such device that can perturb the jet and might surround or
partially surround the jet or be formed of segments. The necessary
criterion is that it perturbs the flow of the jet 9. Further the
perturbation should have a particular phase relationship to the
passage of the droplet of the first fluid through the nozzle.
It may also be advantageous to impart a perturbation to the
internal jet 7. This is illustrated in FIGS. 2b and 2c. As
illustrated in FIG. 2b heaters 11 impart a flow perturbation to the
first fluid. The invention is not limited to the use of heaters.
This could also be done by piezo devices or indeed any such device
that can perturb the flow. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG.
2c, heaters 11, or piezo devices or such like, can impart a flow
perturbation to the second fluid which by virtue of being in
contact will perturb the jet 7. It will be advantageous that a
particular phase relationship is maintained between the
perturbation applied to the jet 7 and that applied at the nozzle
6.
Additionally, as shown in FIG. 3, there are various ways of
supplying a composite first fluid to channel 5. In FIG. 3a two
fluids, 17 and 18 are brought together at junction 19 to form a
composite fluid jet 12. Since the flow within the channels is
laminar, the two fluids are separate and the resulting drops are
Janus drops. A mixing device could be inserted such that the fluids
are fully combined before the flow focussing junction 20. In FIG.
3b a drop within a drop within the freely jetted drop is formed.
This is achieved by cascading two flow focusing devices 21 and 22.
These and other well known microfluidic processes can be combined
at will prior to the exit nozzle. Variations including devices to
perturb the flows leading to the composite jet 7 are not
illustrated. However it will be clear to those skilled in the art
that devices combining features of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 will be
advantageous.
Whilst not shown in the Figures, it will also be clear to one
skilled in the art that the angle that the channels 14 make to the
axis of the device is not critical and can be chosen to optimise
the particular device with the chosen fluids. Further, it will be
appreciated that essentially the same device can be created by
using either the cylindrical configuration of FIG. 1a, the planar
configuration of FIG. 1b or the T configuration of FIG. 1c, or any
other configuration of channels that create a liquid-in-liquid jet.
Further it will also be appreciated that any reasonable cross
section for the channels is acceptable e.g. square, circular,
semi-circular, rectangular etc. For any such configuration the
internal surfaces of the device should be lyophilic with respect to
the second fluid and lyophobic with respect to the first fluid.
Note in FIG. 3b this implies that the internal surface of device 22
has the opposite lyophilicity to that of device 21.
In FIGS. 2 and 3, the length of the channel between the junction of
the first fluid and the second fluid and the nozzle 6 should be
large enough that the inner jet 7 has sufficient time to break up
into droplets. Since the liquid velocity is high, this distance
will be large with respect to the channel dimensions. This is in
itself non-optimal for fabrication purposes, but also requires a
large pressure differential along the channel. In order to avoid
this FIG. 4 shows the device of FIG. 2 with an entrance region 23
and expanded region 24 to allow the jet 7 to slow and break into
droplets. The factor of slowing will be proportional to the
relative cross sections of the entrance region 23 and jet formation
region 24. Again the dimensions are not critical other than they
are sufficient to achieve the break-up into droplets of jet 7.
The flow velocity, surface tension and length of the cavity are
mutually arranged such that the jet of the first fluid breaks
within the cavity. For this purpose, it may be useful to consider
the linear equations of a jet in air;
.times..times..alpha..times..function..xi. ##EQU00004## where
L.sub.B is the breakoff length of the jet of the first fluid
measured from the entrance to the cavity (m), U is the fluid
velocity (m/s), R is the jet radius (m), .alpha. is the growth rate
for a frequency of interest (1/s) (e.g. the Rayleigh frequency
f.sub.R.about.U/(9.02 R)) and .xi..sub.i is the size of the initial
perturbation (m). The growth rate may be obtained from the
following equation
.alpha..times..eta..function..rho..times..times..times..alpha..sigma..tim-
es..rho..times..times..times..times. ##EQU00005##
where .eta. is the viscosity of the first fluid (Pas), .sigma. is
the interfacial tension (N/m) and k is the wavevector (k=2.pi.f/U)
(1/m). Thus the breakoff length L.sub.B may be estimated and
compared with the cavity length, L.
For continuous inkjet printing, having generated a stream of
droplets it is usual to separate those drops that will land on the
substrate to be printed and those that do not. Those that do not
land on the substrate are recirculated to the ink supply. This is a
cumbersome process and within the invention detailed here can be
alleviated to a great extent. FIGS. 5a, 5b, 5c, 6 and 7 illustrate
examples by which the requirement for drop sorting is alleviated.
FIG. 5 illustrates contone printing. FIG. 6 illustrates an internal
drop sorting process. In FIG. 5 a deformable member 25 is provided
such that when deformed to an upper position, liquid 13 is
restricted, and when deformed to a lower position liquid 15 is
restricted. A proportional position between the upper and lower
positions provides a continuously variable proportion of liquids 13
and 15. Liquids 13 and 15 could for example be a liquid 13
containing colorant and a liquid 15 the same as liquid 13 but
without the colorant. Any such combination of liquids is
permissible.
In FIG. 6 an additional feature of droplet sorting is illustrated.
In this instance channels 26 and 27 are provided within the jet
forming region to allow electrodes to couple to the outer fluid and
create an electro osmotic flow. Such a system is only applicable to
a conductive outer second fluid. The cross flow generated will
deflect the droplets of the first fluid so that they go to an
internal channel 28 that could for example be taken to recirculate
the fluid. Those droplets of the first fluid that are undeflected,
or deflected upwards, go on to form jet droplets as before. Thus
empty droplets 29 and filled droplets 30 of the second fluid are
created which may be used for printing without the requirement of
catching and recirculation as with a conventional continuous inkjet
system. It will be understood that various mechanisms can be
effected to deflect or gate the droplets. Although an electro
osmotic method is described for the second fluid being conductive,
were the second fluid non-conductive then a dielectrophoretic
method would be appropriate.
FIG. 7 illustrates the formation of droplets of the first fluid by
a conventional thermal bubble jet process. A heater 31 provides a
bubble to create a pressure perturbation that causes the meniscus
32 to break off a droplet of liquid. As with the device in FIG. 6
the result is droplets of the second fluid with and without the
first fluid and therefore catching and recirculation are
alleviated. A piezo device could also be used to create the droplet
of the first fluid.
Two embodiments of a device shown to have performed the invention
are described below with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.
FIG. 8 illustrates a first embodiment of a microfluidic device
suitable for performing the method of the invention.
The device comprises a first arm 33 and a second arm 34. The two
arms supply pipes 35 and 36 respectively. The pipes 35 and 36 meet
at T junction 37. A nozzle 38 is located immediately downstream of
the junction 37. A cavity 39 of larger cross sectional area than
nozzle 38 is illustrated downstream of the nozzle 38. However this
cavity is not an essential feature of the present invention
A fluid, such as deionised water, is fed from arm 33 and through
pipe 35. A fluid, such as oil (decane) containing a dye, is fed
from arm 34 into pipe 36.
Over a range of relative pressures the oil formed droplets in the
water stream as described above. The composite stream formed a jet
that broke into droplets.
FIG. 9 illustrates a further device suitable for performing the
method of the invention.
The device shown in FIG. 9 has a central arm 50 and upper and lower
arms 54. The upper and lower arms 54 meet the central arm 50 at a
junction 56. A nozzle 58 is provided down stream of the junction
56.
A first fluid such as hexadecane is fed into the central arm 50. A
second fluid, such as deionised water, was supplied from the upper
and lower arms 54 at the same pressure. At the cross junction 56 a
composite flow of oil drops in water was formed. FIG. 10 shows the
break-up of the oil into droplets within the water phase.
Depending on the pressure used to drive the liquids, or
equivalently the liquid flow rates, either the oil jet completely
traversed the cavity and exited the nozzle to form a coextruded
jet, or the oil jet stopped completely and a meniscus poised or
moved backwards, or if the water and oil pressures were within an
appropriate range formed droplets within the cavity and
subsequently formed drops within drops travelling at greater than 7
m/s. The graph of FIG. 11 summarises these experiments. The
pressures were measured at the liquid supply and therefore may
differ slightly for variations of filters, pipework etc. as one
skilled in the art would expect. As the composite flow traversed
the nozzle, or orifice, 58 the oil droplets initiated break up of
the forming jet so that one oil drop was encapsulated in each water
drop. The device of FIG. 9 has been shown to work for deionised
water+Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate/Decane+Sudan Red; deionised
water/Hexadecane; and deionised water/1-Octanol.
FIG. 12 shows a further embodiment of a microfluidic device
suitable for performing the method of the invention. This device
has the same essential features as already described for the device
shown in FIG. 9. The device has a central arm 50 and upper and
lower arms 54. The upper and lower arms 54 meet the central arm 50
at a junction 56. A nozzle 58 is provided downstream of the
junction 56. A cavity lies downstream of the nozzle 58. In addition
this embodiment has heater elements 11 located adjacent the arms
50, 54 and nozzle 58. Further heater elements 4 are located at the
exit of the cavity. The heater elements may comprise 20 nm of
platinum evaporated over 10 nm of titanium evaporated as a zig-zag
pattern on one side of a glass channel. It was determined that
heaters 11 could phase lock the jet 7 breakup in this device.
FIG. 13a show an image of such droplet formation at 60 kHz in this
channel wherein the maximum width was 100 .mu.m and the length was
500 .mu.m. The oil phase, jet 7, was Decane and the outer phase was
deionised water. FIG. 13b shows the composite drop formation
external to the device. It was further determined that heater 4
could perturb a jet of water and initiate breakup of such a
jet.
The above description has been in relation to oil/solvent liquids
being encapsulated in an aqueous carrier flow. The invention is
equally applicable to aqueous droplets being formed within an oil
based carrier flow. The two requirements are that the two liquids
form an interface with an associated interfacial tension and the
channel walls are lyophilic with respect to the second fluid. This
implies that any two immiscible liquids would be appropriate. The
liquid in liquid jet break-up will however be facilitated by higher
interfacial tension. Thus two immiscible solvents would be
appropriate, or a monomeric precursor for a polymer and immiscible
solvent or materials that are liquids or liquid compositions rather
than solvents, for example UV curable inks. Further, any additives
that are compatible with either fluid are permissible. For example
particulates in the form of pigments for graphics printing or
colloidal metal particles for printing conductive tracks or
colloidal ceramic particles or polymers suitable for an inkjet
process. The invention is not limited to such fluids and
particulates. The invention also includes a colorant, a dye, a
monomer, a surfactant, a dispersant, inorganic particulates,
organic particulates, or semiconductive polymers or semiconductive
particulates, or conductive polymers, or conductive particulates, a
molecule containing a cross-linking moiety, or a chemically
reactive species. Others will occur to those skilled in the
art.
The invention has been described in detail with reference to
preferred embodiments thereof. It will be understood by those
skilled in the art that variations and modifications can be
effected within the scope of the invention.
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